


Weatherworn Heart

by theScrap_Witch



Series: Quests and Questions [5]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28823418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theScrap_Witch/pseuds/theScrap_Witch
Summary: It took a minute for her old brain to process it all.Eight young men crowded in her small house, dressed in cuts and bruises and odd clothes. One wearing a blue scarf held Link in his arms. One with pink hair cradled the seagull Marin close to his heart.“I found them,” said Aryll, the other two seagulls perched on her head and shoulder.“She did,” said one who wore a fur pelt, eyes bright with a humour Granny did not understand.-A companion piece to Rescue Mission
Series: Quests and Questions [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864564
Comments: 31
Kudos: 180





	Weatherworn Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place right after Rescue Mission, so it may make more sense to read that first.

A thunder of footsteps rushed into her dreams, hands shaking her shoulders so quickly it jostled her out of her sleep.

“Grandma! Grandma!” Aryll shouted, bouncing with each word.

“One minute, sweetheart.” It had been a wonderful dream, both her children and grandchildren sitting by her side, a great feast spread out before them. Granny wasn’t ready to leave it yet. “Just one more minute.”

But Aryll was insistent. “Wake up! Link’s here. Link’s home!”

That cleared away the fog, had her eyes snap wide open as she all but leapt off her rocking chair. “Link?” Granny stood, ready to open her arms wide and wrap him in a long hug.

But her grandson did not run to her.

He couldn’t.

It took a minute for her old brain to process it all.

Eight young men crowded in her small house, dressed in cuts and bruises and odd clothes. One wearing a blue scarf held Link in his arms. One with pink hair cradled the seagull Marin close to his heart.

“I found them,” said Aryll, the other two seagulls, Flipper and Ben, perched on her head and shoulder.

“She did,” said one who wore a fur pelt, eyes bright with a humour Granny did not understand.

“Wi-I mean, Link’s okay,” said another, this one with freckles dusted across his nose. “He just needs to rest, that’s all.”

“I think we all could use some rest,” mumbled a terribly scarred boy, rubbing his bruised forehead.

Granny stumbled to Link’s side, pushing herself up on her tiptoes to see him better. He was injured, head wrapped in blood-speckled bandages. The sight nearly stopped her heart. But his chest rose and fell in soft, steady breaths, and Aryll would not have been so cheerful if there was real danger. He’d been hurt, yes, but he’d also been cared for. Gently, she cupped his face with her hands.

He stirred, half-awake, eyes going bright when he saw who it was. “Hey, Grandma,” he said, a sleepy smile stretched across his face.

“Link.” She brushed back his bangs. “Welcome home, dear child.”

“Ma’am,” said the one carrying her grandson. “We’re sorry to drop in like this. You must have so many questions.”

“Nothing that can’t wait, dearie.” She patted his shoulder. “You all look ready to sleep standing up. Help me take Link to his bed and then we can find a place for you all to rest.”

And so, introductions were made while Link was settled into his bed, Aryll snuggled next to him, her trio of seagulls clustered nearby. Granny set up makeshift beds for the other boys (all of them, even the grown men, were boys compared to her, with too many scars on their skin and too many shadows weighing down upon their shoulders), handed out cups of steaming tea and extra quilts to keep them warm.

Then, she moved her rocking chair to Link’s bedside and sat down. A basket of mending waited at her feet, Aryll’s old dress ready for repairs on her lap. “She’s grown another two inches since last month. I’ll need to let the hem down.” Granny sighed, candlelight shinning against her needle, on the sleeping faces of her grandchildren. “Both of you, growing so much, so fast. How’s an old woman like me to keep up?”

***

The full story came out at breakfast.

Wild offered to cook, but Granny shooed him away from the kitchen. This was her home, and so cooking for them would be her joy. She cut up fruit and fried coconut fritters as the boys talked, voices overlapping, contradicting, arguing over details. Link, or Wind as they called him, was awake, bright eyed and filled with energy. Aryll interjected every now and then, especially about a certain “Mr Puppy” who sounded far too gentle to be as dangerous as some of the others hinted. The seagull trio - Flipper, Ben, and Marin - made themselves comfortable on the counter, gobbling down whatever tasty bits Granny passed to them.

“Goodness,” said Granny, when the explanation was over and their plates were full of food. “What a night. No wonder you were all so tired.”

“Your granddaughter’s a fierce fighter, ma’am,” said Twilight.

“Of course she is,” said Link, “She’s my little sister.” He had an arm around Aryll’s shoulder, pure sunshine and brotherly pride in his grin.

"I’m just glad no one was hurt," said Granny.

“Tell that to my kneecaps,” grumbled Legend, before someone (Four, possibly, from the much too innocent expression on his face) kicked him under the table. “Ouch!”

“Thank you for letting us stay here,” said Time, ignoring both of them.

“It’s no trouble.”

“Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help,” said Sky.

“Anything that needs to be fixed,” said Four.

“Or healed,” added Hyrule.

Warriors nodded. “Or monsters that need to be fought.”

“What sweet hearts you all have.” She smiled at them all, brave boys who’d taken her grandson under their wings. “But Outset Island is a peaceful place. You’ll find no trouble here.”

“And we’re going to keep it that way,” said Time, sending Wild a stern look.

“Why are you looking at me?” said Wild, “Wind’s the one who - ”

Her grandson stretched over the table and slapped hand over Wild’s mouth. “- has perfect manners and has never heard the word alcohol before and doesn’t cause chaos and never says a bad word, ever, not once in his whole life, nope.” Link grinned at her, overly bright. “Don’t believe a word they say, if they say anything about any of that. Its totally not true. At all. They’re just teasing, Grandma.”

“Of course.” Sweet boy, thinking his Grandma knew nothing of growing up and causing trouble. As though she’d never walked by a pack of sailors drinking on a summer night and joined them in song. As though she’d never once been young herself and tested what rules she could get away with breaking.

“Great!” Link turned back to the others. “Now that we’re here, I need to give you a tour of the island.” 

Aryll bounced up and down beside him. “Yeah! Me and Marin and Ben and Flipper can help too!”

All three seagulls squawked in agreement, though Granny did not miss how Flipper and Warriors exchanged glares.

She looked at Link. The bandages were gone, the wounds all healed, but he still seemed too pale. _Should he be up so soon, running around in the sun?_ “Please, don’t push yourself too hard, dear one.”

Link flexed his arms. “Don’t worry, Granny! I’m all better now!”

Brave boy. She could see his father - her son, her only child - in his grin. Thirteen and wild with energy, bursting to board a ship and sail to every corner of the Great Sea. He’d chased adventure after adventure, first by himself, then with his fire-hearted wife. “We’ll be fine,” he’d said, again and again, and for years he was. Until one of his adventures ended terribly, far away from where anyone could help.

All the confidence in the world was no sure armour against fate.

But it was not a child’s job to bare their caretaker’s worries. So, she smiled instead and patted Link’s cheek. “If you’re sure, dear one,” she said, and let him and the others make their plans.

***

Granny left them to explore the island. To follow Link’s lead, and spoil Aryll with piggy-back rides. Outset was small, incapable of keeping secrets, and the wind brought her scraps of their conversations as she swept the walkway. Fragments of laughter and shouts as they raced each other across the sandy shore.

“Ma’am?”

She stopped, turning around to see one of the boys standing behind her, his blue scarf waving in the wind. “You’re back much sooner than expected. Did you forget something…” Her mind went blank. “Remind me of your name again, dearie?”

“Warriors,” he said, standing tall. His smile, so charming at breakfast, had faded. Guilt had bitten away the shinning edges, leaving him open and afraid. “I was just hoping to speak to you, privately. If that’s alright?”

“Of course.” _Does your mother know where you are?_ she wondered. _Do you have a family praying for your safety, waiting for your return?_ She hoped so. To be alone was not a pain she’d wish on anyone.

“Its about Wind, I mean, Link. Your grandson.” Warriors took in a deep breath, spine straight like steel. “I want you to know that he's brave, one of the bravest people I have ever met. You should be proud.”

Granny smiled. “I am.” That was part of the problem. She’d raised him and Aryll to be brave and and kind, to help those in trouble and to refuse whatever sweet lies evil would try to tempt them with. And so they’d rush into danger and do what was right, and her old heart would tremble with all the fears their courage made her imagine.

“And,” Warriors continued, “I am sorry that he has to use that bravery to fight. He’s too young to be involved in any of this, but he is and I’m sorry. But, I promise, in the name of the Three, and of Hylia, and of all that I am, I will make sure he comes home. I swear it.”

“You are a soldier?” she said, the word strange on her tongue, a word only used when reciting stories of the ancient past.

“Yes, ma’am. A captain.”

“Can you not do this yourself? If it’s as dangerous as all of you are saying, why does he have to go? He’s only thirteen.” Tears burned in her eyes. “Must you take my grandson with you into this battle?”

Warriors sighed. “If I had any choice in this, any power to choose who fought and who stayed behind, I would tie him to your doorstep in a heartbeat. But this is a task for those with the Hero’s Spirit, and your grandson, while the youngest, is one of us, and so he must fight as well.” He scoffed, some of the shine coming back onto his smile. “Besides, the kid would chase after us the moment he thought anyone was trying to leave him behind.”

“He would,” said Granny. She reached up and patted Warriors on the cheek. “Be a good lad and look after him for me, then, will you.”

“With my life.”

“And look after yourself as well. All of you boys deserve to go home.”

***

By evening, Wild had finally convinced Granny to let him cook for her. “Just one meal,” he begged. “Please. Wind says you’ve never had fish before, which is weird because you’re all on an island - but that’s not the point! Please, let me make you something as thanks.”

“Alright, dearie,” she said, and left the kitchen in his hands. The other boys were in the living room, showing off what they’d found at the beach. Marin sat in Legend’s arms, Ben asleep in Aryll’s. Warriors chased Flipper around the house.

“You better return those shells to me, you stupid beach cucco!"

"SQUACK!"

"Do not toss them out the window! Those are a gift for Lana, you piece of - "

“Language!” yelled Time.

Granny laughed to herself, and then left them to find her grandson. Link had slipped outside when he thought none of the others were looking. She followed, closing the door behind her, and walked out onto the balcony.

Link sat near the railing, eyes on the water, the light of the sunset turning his hair gold and orange.

“What are you doing out here, dear one?” Granny asked.

“Watching the waves,” he said. “I missed the sea.”

She sat down next to him. “I cannot imagine a world without it.”

“Neither could I, until I met all of them,” he said. “Everything is so much bigger than I thought it once was, Grandma. I thought I had it all figured out. Even after Ganondorf and Bellum were defeated, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the world and my place in it. Now it’s all mixed up again.”

“The world is like the sea, my dear child. The further out you go, the deeper and murkier it gets. All you can do is keep your heart clear and follow its course.”

“I guess.” He sighed. “Have you ever left Outset Island, Grandma?”

“Only once, when I was younger than Aryll, and completely on accident." She smiled at the memory. "I couldn’t find my mother and thought she’d gone aboard, not realizing she was at home and the ship had started to haul up its anchor. By the time I realized my mistake, it had just sailed passed Headstone Island. Oh, did I holler up a storm.” 

“What happened?”

“Well, the sailors hadn’t noticed I’d snuck aboard until then, and panicked. Within minutes the captain had ordered the whole ship to be turned around. I jumped off its bow the moment it touched Outset sand and I’ve never left it since.”

“Not ever again?”

“Not ever again,” she said. “And I’ve no regrets about it.” She was like the cliffs of Outset, weatherworn, forever bound to her island home. The most she could do was keep the fire lit and a pot of soup ready for whatever tired feet found themselves at her door. “Do you regret going on your adventures, Link?”

“Never,” he said.

“Good.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the waves crash against the rocks, watching a far away ship sail off into the unknown.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Grandma?” Link asked suddenly.

“Yes, dear one.”

“You don’t feel sick at all, do you? Not even a little bit?”

“Not even a cough.” The medicine Link had brought had done wonders, pouring energy back into her old bones and her heavy heart. “Aryll takes me out for a walk every day, and some of your friends come round to visit me now and then. Medli, and Makar, and that sweet girl, Tetra.”

“And you’re eating okay?”

“Yes. I’ve been teaching Aryll some new recipes and she’s been a wonderful help in the kitchen.”

“And nothing in the house needs to be fixed? Do you need more rupees? Do you need - ”

“Link,” Granny chuckled, patting his cheek. “I am just fine. Outset islanders look after one another, after all.”

“Yes, I know,” said Link, but the worry was still there. She could not blame him for it. When Aryll had been taken and he’d first left to rescue her, Granny had fallen into a spiral of darkness. A trap in her own mind, refusing help and hope. But he’d returned to cure the grief that had poisoned her heart, and she would not let herself become like that a second time.

“I’ll come back,” he promised.

_Yes_ , she thought, looking up at his earnest face. _For a week or two. Then you’ll be back on a boat, either Tetra’s or one of your own making, chasing the horizon line just as your father and mother used too._ The thought nearly made her burst into tears.

But what kind of grandmother would she be if she kept him shackled to the island in chains made of guilt and her own anxiety?

_We dress our children in green and say: be strong, be wise, be brave. We make a home as safe as we can, knowing they’ll run out to meet danger head on once the chance to leave arrives._

_They grow up so fast, and so I must grow too. I must be willing to let him go._

But for now, in this precious moment, Link had come home. He leaned against her, head resting on her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around him tight.

“I love you, Link,” she whispered, closing her eyes so that she would not cry.

“I love you too, Grandma.”

**Author's Note:**

> I miss my Grandma. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, and stay safe.


End file.
